Trafficking of children is increasing in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic, according to a global report, which also shows at least one person has been trafficked into Ireland for illegal removal of their organs.
In the three years between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2023, 140 victims of human trafficking have been detected in Ireland, including at least 10 children. The breakdown reveals there are 77 people brought into Ireland for sexual exploitation and 50 for forced labour.
The statistics are contained in the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, published by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
“Child trafficking, trafficking for forced labour and forced criminality are rising as poverty, conflict, and climate leave more people vulnerable to exploitation,” the report said.
“The global number of detected child victims increased 31% in 2022 compared to 2019, with a 38% rise recorded for girls. More boy victims have been detected in areas where increasing numbers of unaccompanied and separated children had been recorded.”
It also includes fewer than five people in 2022 for the purpose of removal of organs. For privacy reasons, the report did not specify the exact number when figures were lower than five.
According to the UN, traffickers profit through the sale of organs to people who are “unable or unwilling to wait for legal transplants”. Kidneys are the most harvested organs from victims of trafficking, according to the UN, “followed by parts of livers”.
The UN adds: “They [traffickers] connect with their victims using local advertisements, social media or via direct approaches by recruiters, who may be former victims themselves or trusted individuals within the victim’s community.”
JP O’Sullivan of anti-trafficking of children’s organisation Mecpaths said the issue of trafficking for organ removal was new in Ireland. It came to the attention of authorities when a woman went to a Dublin Garda station to report a threat made to her, he said.
“She was trafficked initially for sexual exploitation and she was told by whoever trafficked her that organs were going to be removed and she went to the gardaí.”
In its section on Ireland, the report also noted:
- The number of detected trafficking victims increased from 44 in 2021 to 53 in 2023;
- At least 10 trafficking victims were brought in for “other purposes”, including forced criminality or begging;
- 78 of the 140 identified victims were from sub Saharan Africa, with the next highest cohort being from central and south-eastern Europe;
- There are low conviction numbers for trafficking — fewer than five in both 2022 and 2023, and five in total in 2021.
Chief executive of anti-sexual exploitation charity Ruhama Barbara Condon said the low number of convictions for trafficking was disappointing.
She said, however, “convictions for human trafficking are incredibly complex, but there are several cases currently under investigation”.
Until the establishment of a new referral mechanism in the coming months, victims of human trafficking in Ireland can only be formally recognised by gardaí.
Other State agencies and NGOs will be involved in the formal recognition of victims, with agencies in the sector expecting an increase in referrals as a result.
Ms Condon said: “Fundamentally, the reformed NRM will enable more victims of human trafficking to live a life without fear and afford them the opportunities that they were denied whilst under the control of pimps and traffickers.”
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